Editorial: 'Totally crazy' in Boston

An unidentified runner is reunited with family after the explosions.

We imagine the Boston police and federal officials who swept in Monday afternoon will know, or at least have reasonable theories, soon enough after deadly blasts near the finish of the Boston Marathon. We'll save the speculation about motives for the moment.

But even equipped with official answers, won't we still be left with: How does this happen?

The explosions along the course were killers, injuring dozens more. Left behind were the rattling words from Boston police, urging runners and those in town to stay put, not congregate in large groups and understand that this was an "ongoing event."

West Lafayette runner Peter Hollenbeck was in Boston Monday but had to skip the race due to a virus. The rest of his running party - all of whom were among 13 Lafayette and West Lafayette participants - were safe, far from the blasts. "Totally crazy," he said via email.